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Stalin has often been referred to as the 'Red Tsar'. He wanted to build a great empire for himself and his nation. The Supreme Soviet Leader believed that the Soviet Union had all but won the war against the Germans, on its own. This meant that they were entitled to the spoils of war and that because of their great victory that they had won the right to dominate, politically and economically, smaller countries.<ref> Montefiore, Simon Sebag. <i>Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar</i>. (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003), p. 317</ref> Stalin believed that the Soviet Union was entitled to be regarded as a great power. Now great powers, such as Britain and France had empires and so the Soviet Union was entitled to a great empire. Stalin's desire to establish an empire from the countries that his Red Army had recently liberated was one of the main goals of the communist leader, in the post-war period.

He wanted an empire not only for political reasons but also for economic reasons. Stalin wanted to establish puppet regimes in eastern Europe and they would provide the Soviet Union with resources and markets for their goods.<ref> Applebaum, p. 113</ref> The Communist leader envisaged a series of puppet states in Eastern Europe that would be exploited so that they could help to make the Soviet Union prosperous. This was to be ultimately a mistake as in fact, the Soviet Union came to subsidize the Communist countries in the East of Europe. Stalin's domination of Eastern Europe was to greatly antagonize the west and was a contributory factor in starting the Cold War.<ref> Montefiore, p. 332</ref>